Steve Schafer begins his sixth year as the Director of Athletics and Benedictine University Mesa. He arrived in April of 2014 to launch intercollegiate athletics and has guided the athletic department since its inception.
Under Schafer’s leadership, Benedictine Mesa athletics has grown from 60 student-athletes and 8 club sports programs in 2014-2015 to over 325 student-athletes and 13 intercollegiate athletic programs to-date.
The athletics department has enjoyed great success in it’s first five years of intercollegiate athletics under Schafer, boasting 114 All-Conference players, 14 NAIA All-Americans, 3 Conference championships, 1 NAIA National Championship, 60 NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes and 1000 plus hours of community service. The athletics department has also hosted several conference tournaments and have played host to the 2019 and 2020 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championships.
Additionally, Schafer serves as the head men’s basketball coach for the Redhawks and is currently in his fifth year as head coach. Schafer has developed his team into a contender in the first four years of the program. During his tenure, he has 62-54 overall record, including a 33-19 record against Cal Pac teams. BenU Mesa has qualified for the Cal Pac Tournament twice in the first four years and Schafer has helped guide eleven different players to the All-Cal Pac team, including Newcomer of the Year Monnard Brown in 2016-17. The Redhawks best season to date came last season when the team broke the school record for most wins in a season with 18. In 2016-17, they finished as Regular Season Co-Champions in the Cal Pac, finishing with an 11-3 record.
Prior to taking over at Benedictine Mesa, Schafer spent three years at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri as the head men’s basketball coach and head women’s golf coach from 2011-2014. During that time, Schafer helped re-build a struggling program. The men’s basketball program improved on it’s overall win-loss record in every season under Schafer’s guidance.
Schafer is no stranger to Benedictine. He spent two years as the assistant men’s basketball coach and athletic recruiting coordinator at the main campus in Lisle, Illinois from 2009-2011. During his time at BenU, Schafer helped lead the Eagles to a 2011 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title and a bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.Â
Schafer has also spent time as an assistant men’s basketball coach at North Park University (2004-2009), Wayne State College (2001-2004) and one year as a student-assistant men’s basketball coach at Augustana College IL. (2000-2001).
As a player, he was a member of the basketball program at Augustana College for three years. He played from 1997-2000 but was limited by a leg injury. He was a three-year varsity performer at Batavia High School in Illinois and helped his team to a 68-18 record. He was twice named first team all-conference and earned serval all-area honors as well. He was also a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 1997.
He graduated from Augustana College with a degree in speech communications in 2001 and earned his master’s degree from Wayne State College in 2003.
